ANDY Maciver (“We will regret too late the Gray witch-hunt… as we always do”, The Herald, November 22) undermines his own argument by detailing the reasons for the resignations of Henry McLeish, David McLetchie and Wendy Alexander from office many years ago. These reasons now seem utterly piddling, given what we have seen since, with SNP ministers and MPs telling lies to Holyrood and Westminster - for example, about Scotland’s share of wind power generation - and getting away with it.

Above all, at Holyrood, the months it took to lever Michael Matheson out of his well-paid ministerial job, after he had lied to his first minister, to the press and to Holyrood itself, about claiming £11,000 for private use of a government iPad, would, 15 or 20 years ago, have been an automatic resigning issue; and I mean resignation as an MSP as well as a minister. It was a gross violation of the MSPs’ code of conduct, and resignation should have been a matter of honour for an MSP. It beggars belief that Mr Matheson aims to stand for the MSP role in his current constituency in 2026.

Neil Gray’s conduct has been less appalling, but the message it sends about his sense of entitlement is nevertheless one that merits a call for his resignation. The difference between those with the privileges of office, such as a ministerial car, used to travel to watch his favourite football team, and the rest of us is laid bare when he has the gall to include the extension of his ministerial privileges to family and friends.

In both cases, the judge and jury has been the leader of Mr Matheson’s and Mr Gray’s own party, John Swinney. The Holyrood system is demonstrably rotten when a partisan political leader can choose to exempt his friends from appropriate sanctions.

Jill Stephenson, Edinburgh.

Read more letters

• ANDY Maciver proposes that we allow our political masters free rein to use taxpayers' funds without let or hindrance. There is little responsibility taken in Holyrood for the likes of the A9 dualling, mind-blowing overspends on late-delivered ferries, high drug and alcohol deaths and the list goes on. Does Mr Maciver really propose extending this to MSP expenses? What?

And Ian McConnell (“For Scotland’s long-term prosperity, university tuition must remain fee”, The Herald, November 22) highlights the growing costs of university education which, incidentally, will see the glorified headmasters earning £400,000 per annum cut employee numbers to satisfy budget constraints in the manner of the Navy having more admirals than ships.

My solution is banning all politics degrees in the hope that politicians actually have a job before they go into politics themselves and go on to create their own failures for future students to ignore, which they seemingly do now.

Peter Wright, West Kilbride.

Anas Sarwar is second division

I WAS disappointed to see Anas Sarwar pick up The Herald's Politician of the Year award (“Labour bags Politician of the Year award for third successive time”, The Herald, November 22).

Scotland's Labour leader promises to bring back winter fuel payments but only after Holyrood elections in 2026. He's not fighting for farmers over the UK Government's inheritance tax plans or small businesses which face an increase in workers National Insurance fees.

He won't stand up against Keir Starmer, his boss at Westminster. on any issue it seems, and just does what he is told.

I know there's not a great deal of talent to choose from in Scottish politics but while Mr Sarwar tries to talk a good game, in reality he's second division.

Andy Stenton, Glasgow.

Labour plan must be costed

ANAS Sarwar has announced that a future Scottish Labour Government will bring back the winter fuel payment, means tested on a scale where wealthy pensioners will only receive a token payment (“Winter fuel cash pledge not sparked by Holyrood defeat fears”, The Herald, November 20). Nowhere has he outlined the costs involved.

How much will it cost to set up such a scheme? What will be the annual cost of administering it? How much annually will the total amount of payments be? Surely Labour must know all of this, as Rachel Reeves is on record as saying that Labour will not make unfunded policy commitments.

Also, what are the criteria being proposed to determine who gets what amount of payment and what will the application process be?

If Scottish Labour cannot answer these questions, the policy announcement is simply a soundbite with no substance.

David Howie, Dunblane.

House of Lords is a disgrace

I COULDN'T agree more with Alec Oattes (Letters, November 21) when he describes the House of Lords as being "totally outrageous, undemocratic, outdated". It sticks in my craw that Members of the House of Lords, elected by nobody, can claim more than £300 per day attendance allowance, plus travel expenses and subsidised restaurant facilities, although apparently a year or two ago the food served came under criticism from some Members of the Lords, who wrote letters complaining that "disappointing" food was being served; too much salmon and poor quality Chardonnay. One hopes standards have improved.

It is all a bit rich when compared to the winter fuel payment, of £200 or £300 a year, which the Labour Government has cut from millions of pensioners across the UK.

Ruth Marr, Stirling.

Anas SarwarAnas Sarwar (Image: PA)

Think again on business rates

AS Scotland grapples with economic challenges, we must consider innovative approaches to stimulate growth and support local businesses. Adam Smith, the Scottish economist, wisely noted, "it is not from the benevolence of the butcher, the brewer, or the baker that we expect our dinner, but from their regard to their own interest".

Proposals such as abolishing business rates for small and medium-sized firms on the high street could breathe new life into our town centres. Additionally, raising the VAT threshold to £150,000 could reduce bureaucratic burdens on small businesses, allowing them to focus on growth and job creation.

These measures, combined with targeted tax incentives for key sectors like fishing and agriculture, could help create a more robust and diverse Scottish economy. It is time for a frank discussion about how we can use fiscal policy to drive prosperity across Scotland.

Alastair Majury, Dunblane.

You couldn't make it up...

I DECIDED to write another book. At first the subject was going to be a country's ageing president who was going senile and was being replaced by a slightly younger, possible madder, alternative. The outgoing president would deliberately aggravate an ongoing distant war in a way that threatened an escalation that could lead to a global disaster, simply to make it harder for the new president to carry out his plans.

Then I thought “That is so ridiculous nobody would believe it”. So as an alternative I decided to use the case of a prime minister who in the past had been an eminent civil-rights lawyer who a decade previously had stood up in an international court and claimed a genocide was taking place in a far-off land in circumstances that paled into insignificance when compared to a catastrophe currently under way and it being condemned as a genocide by almost every other country worldwide. Yet this prime minister would refuse to acknowledge this and would continue to support the aggressor with arms. Perhaps the fact that he was a member of a society whose main purpose is to foster the interests of that very foreign country accused of perpetrating the genocide would be seen as a significant factor. Then I thought “That is so ridiculous nobody would believe it”.

My next idea was what if the story was about a King and his Queen who was in reality the woman with whom he had a long-term adulterous relationship. What if the King’s family in the recent past during a world war had changed its name to something that sounded English rather than being awfy like those of the enemy it expected its loyal citizens to sacrifice their lives to perpetuate their own existence? What if it transpired that this King, this “dynasty” had little or no genetic connection to former kings and queens of the land? What if it transpired that in this fictitious country where the standard of living and life expectancy for the majority was declining it was discovered that the King was a billionaire who profited from the efforts of the general public and contributed next to nothing other than the odd wave from his golden carriage? Then I thought “That is so ridiculous nobody would believe it”.

So, once upon a time there was this cuddly wee bear...

David J Crawford, Glasgow.